The Sleeping Pill
by menz815
Summary: A continuation of the scene in Season One when Kate drugs Jack. A request from Northern Wolf. Definitely a Jate.


A/N: So this might be a little strange considering we just finished the S5 finale, but **Northern Wolf** requested a continuation fic for the sleeping pill scene in S1. It was kind of fun thinking about what I could do to make a fic out of something just as simple as Kate watching Jack sleep.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated. :D

Disclaimer: Don't own Lost or Jate. :(

* * *

"Lie down, okay?" She said, making sure his head hit the pillow. His eyes were fluttering already, and she almost regretted her decision to give him the pills when he looked up at her with some fear.

"I crushed up some sleeping pills. Put 'em in your juice." She said softly, slightly afraid of his reaction.

"Why would you…..you drugged me?" He muttered in disbelief.

"Yeah." She said, an apology wavering in her tone. Thankfully, he seemed to forgive her.

"Oh, okay." He laughed softly, too tired to fight her on it as he quickly fell asleep.

"Good night." She teased lightly as his head turned to his side.

She sat there, smiling softly, at his sleeping repose. He had tried to fight it so hard, but she knew how exhausted he really was just by looking at the dark bags underneath his eyes. The pallor of his skin made him look like the zombie he truly was; he had given a bit of his life to Boone, his blood had run through his veins. And when he had let go, when he had finally succumbed to his injuries that bit of Jack had died too. She knew what it did to him to see him lose, to see him fail to save Boone. She knew there was nothing she could say to take that weight off his shoulders. But she could give him the strength and support to carry that weight; she would always be one step behind to catch him if he fell.

When she thought about it, she realized she should have felt some panic at this admission. She was not a follower; she was always the person running the other way. She remembered Kevin and the day she had drugged him, the day she had watched him crumple to the floor, his eyes growing heavy and yet still betraying their utter disbelief that his wife, the woman he had lived with for the past couple of months, was actually a criminal, had _murdered_ someone. She flushed with the memory and tears sprang to her eyes. She loved him, but she had to get away, she couldn't stay there anymore. The urge to run was too overpowering.

She wondered why she couldn't do that with Jack. Why was she sitting here, watching him sleep? Why hadn't she run when he had seen straight through her? On that first day when they met, he had said _"you're not running and now"_, and ever since then she couldn't understand why she hadn't. She couldn't understand why _he_ was still here. He knew what she was, and for some reason she had felt safe enough to tell him what she had done. After only three days of knowing her, he had offered her the second chance she didn't even know she had wanted.

* * *

Time slipped away and the din of the camp faded from around her as she watched him lie there, snoring softly. The gentle rustle of his breathing matched the soothing sounds of the waves as they moved in and out. _She had always wanted to go to the ocean._

Snoring always used to keep her awake when she was a child, the loud, rattling intakes of Wayne's breath, reminding her that he was still here, still violently reverberating in her life. That sound echoed through the remnants of her childhood, and she vowed to never love a man who brought those memories to her thoughts. But then came Kevin, and she found that it could be different. Instead of the sharp and drunken cacophony, Kevin seemed to breathe stability. His soft, rhythmic breathing brought her temporary peace, a sense of domesticity in all the running.

She'd wake up in the morning, and sometimes he would be watching her. He'd grin and stroke her cheek, and she would be forced to hold a smile, one that he was used to because he hadn't ever seen her face light up with true happiness. His eyes danced and sparkled in the early morning glow, and she saw all the love she knew he felt for the woman that lay before him. But that woman wasn't her, and soon that stability, that tranquil home life, began to suffocate her. She didn't breathe again until she placed that necklace in his hands, the one that belonged to Monica, and not to her.

Why was it then that she had told Jack her real name? Why had she really let him see her? Sometimes she'd berate herself for opening herself up to him, but then he'd look at her. And it wasn't like he was just looking at her, it was like he was looking _in_ her, and despite everything he saw, he still made it seem like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Kevin had looked at her with disbelief and pain, and Jack looked at her like she was a treasure, and an equal. And she knew she had never felt that way before. His lips tugged up while he slept, and she recognized it as the smile reserved only for her. And suddenly running away no longer seemed to be an option.

And when she hears the waves, she hopes one day they can breathe the ocean together, their sighs constant like the rolling tide.

* * *

Please review! ;)

I'm planning a S6 continuation fic for Jate next, so keep your eyes peeled out for that.


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